# Winged sun > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Winged_sun > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Winged_sun.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_sun > Source revision: 1342276633 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Symbol of divinity, royalty and power}} {{multiple issues| {{Refimprove|date=December 2008}} {{More footnotes|date=October 2021}}}} [[File:Winged Sun alchemical.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A winged sun hovers over a [sepulchre](/source/sepulchre) filled with water; an [alchemical symbol](/source/alchemical_symbol) from the ''[Rosary of the Philosophers](/source/Rosary_of_the_Philosophers)'']] The '''winged sun''' is a [solar symbol](/source/solar_symbol) associated with [divinity](/source/divinity), [royalty](/source/Royal_family), and power in the [Ancient Near East](/source/Ancient_Near_East) ([Egypt](/source/Ancient_Egypt), [Mesopotamia](/source/Mesopotamia), [Anatolia](/source/Anatolia), and [Persia](/source/Ancient_Persia)). The [Illyrian Sun-deity](/source/Illyrian_religion) is also represented as a winged sun. == Ancient Egypt == thumb|upright=1.2|"Winged Sun of Thebes" In ancient Egypt, the symbol is attested from the [Old Kingdom](/source/Old_Kingdom) ([Sneferu](/source/Sneferu), 26th century BC {{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}), often flanked on either side with a [uraeus](/source/uraeus). === Behdety === In early Egyptian religion, the symbol Behdety represented [Horus](/source/Horus) of [Edfu](/source/Edfu), later identified with [Ra-Horakhty](/source/Ra-Horakhty). It is sometimes depicted on the neck of [Apis](/source/Apis_(Egyptian_mythology)), the bull of [Ptah](/source/Ptah). As time passed (according to interpretation) all of the subordinated gods of Egypt were considered to be aspects of the sun god, including [Khepri](/source/Khepri). The name "Behdety" means the inhabitant of [Behdet](/source/Behdet).{{Cite web|url=https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/horusbehedet/|title=Horus of Behdet (Edfu) |website=Ancientegyptonline.co.uk|access-date=24 October 2021}} He was the ''sky god'' of the region called ''Behdet'' in the [Nile basin](/source/Nile_Basin).{{Cite book|last=Zahan|first=S.|title=Mishor (Egypt)|publisher=Aranyaman|year=2018|location=Kolkata, India|pages=101–102}} His image was first found in the inscription on a comb's body, as a winged solar panel. The period of the comb is about 3000 BC. Such winged solar panels were later found in the funeral picture of [Pharaoh Sahure](/source/Sahure) of the fifth dynasty. Behdety is seen as the protector of [Pharaoh](/source/Pharaoh). On both sides of his picture are seen the [Uraeus](/source/Uraeus), which is a symbol for the cobra-headed goddess [Wadjet](/source/Wadjet). He resisted the intense heat of Egyptian sun with his two wings. File:Cairo museum 8.jpg|[Pyramidion of Amenemhat III](/source/Pyramidion_of_Amenemhat_III) from the [Black Pyramid](/source/Pyramid_of_Amenemhat_III_(Dahshur)), [Twelfth Dynasty](/source/Twelfth_Dynasty_of_Egypt). [Egyptian Museum](/source/Egyptian_Museum), Cairo File:Medinet Habu Ramses III. Tempelrelief 15.JPG|The winged sun on the ceiling to the entrance to the temple of Ramses III File:Edfu Temple 9612.JPG|''Heru-Behdeti'' ("Horus of Behedet") as a winged sun disk on the cornice of a pylon at the [temple of Edfu](/source/temple_of_Edfu) File:Kom Ombo 0345.JPG|The winged sun over the temple of Kom Ombo File:SFEC-DENDERA-2010-098.JPG|Relief of the winged sun in the temple of Hathor File:DenderaHathorTempleComplexQenaEgypt608-2007feb10PhotoByCsorfolyDaniel.JPG|The winged sun in the Dendera Hathor Temple Complex {{Multiple image | image1 = Shamash.jpg | caption1 = Male figure in an [Assyrian](/source/Assyria) winged sun emblem (Northwest Palace of [Nimrud](/source/Nimrud), [Nineveh](/source/Nineveh) 9th century BC; British Museum room B, panel 23). This iconography later gave rise to the Faravahar symbol of Zoroastrianism. | image2 = Nimrud stele winged sun.jpg | caption2 = Stele to Assurnasiripal II at Nimrud (9th century BC), detail showing the winged sun. }} == Mesopotamia == {{Further|Ashur (god)}} From roughly 2000 BCE, the symbol also appears in [Mesopotamia](/source/Mesopotamia). It appears in reliefs with [Assyria](/source/Assyria)n rulers as a symbol for royalty, transcribed into [Latin](/source/Latin) as {{lang|la|SOL SUUS}} (literally, "his own self, the Sun", i.e. "His Majesty").{{cn|date=October 2021}} ==Illyria== Early figurative evidence of the celestial cult in [Illyria](/source/Illyria) is provided by 6th century BCE plaques from [Lake Shkodra](/source/Lake_Shkodra), which belonged to the [Illyrian](/source/Illyrians) tribal area of what was referred in historical sources to as the [Labeatae](/source/Labeatae) in later times. Each of those plaques portray simultaneously sacred representations of the sky and the sun, and symbolism of lightning and fire, as well as the [sacred tree](/source/sacred_tree) and birds (eagles). In those plaques there is a recurrent mythological representation of the celestial deity: the Sun deity animated with a face and two wings, throwing lightning into a fire altar, which in some plaques is held by two men (sometimes on two boats).{{cite book|last=Brahaj|first=Jaho|title=Flamuri i Kombit Shqiptar: origjina, lashtësia|publisher=Enti Botues "Gjergj Fishta"|year=2007|isbn=9789994338849|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1RpOwAACAAJ|pages=16–18}} == Iran == In [Zoroastrian](/source/Zoroastrian) [Persia](/source/Achaemenid_Empire), the symbol of the winged sun became part of the iconography of the [Faravahar](/source/Faravahar), the symbol of the divine power and royal glory in Persian culture.{{cn|date=October 2021}} == Judah == {{mainarticle|LMLK seals}} [[File:LMLK, Ezekiah seals.jpg|right|thumb|Seal of [Hezekiah](/source/Hezekiah), 727 to 698. Winged disk representing God]] From around the 8th century BC, the winged solar disk appears on [Hebrew](/source/Hebrews) seals connected to the royal house of the [Kingdom of Judah](/source/Kingdom_of_Judah). Many of these are seals and jar handles from [Hezekiah](/source/Hezekiah)'s reign, together with the inscription ''l'melekh'' ("belonging to the king").{{cite journal|last1=Deutsch|first1=Robert|title=Lasting Impressions: New bullae reveal Egyptian-style emblems on Judah's royal seals|journal=Biblical Archaeology Review|date=July–August 2002|volume=28|issue=4|pages=42–51|url=http://www.archaeological-center.com/en/monographs/m13/|access-date=12 October 2014|archive-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223161122/http://www.archaeological-center.com/en/monographs/m13/|url-status=dead}} Typically, Hezekiah's royal seals feature two downward-pointing wings and six rays emanating from the central sun disk, and some are flanked on either side with the Egyptian [ankh](/source/ankh) ("key of life") symbol. Prior to this, there are examples from the seals of servants of king [Ahaz](/source/Ahaz) and of king [Uzziah](/source/Uzziah).{{cite journal|last1=Sarlo|first1=Daniel|title=Winged Scarab Imagery in Judah: Yahweh as Khepri|journal=Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society Annual Meeting, Erie, PA|date=2014|url=https://www.academia.edu/5562359|access-date=12 October 2014}} [[File:Persepolis Bas-Relief.jpg|thumb|[Faravahar](/source/Faravahar) in the [Persepolis](/source/Persepolis) with another smaller winged sun below it]] Compare also [Malachi](/source/Malachi) 4:2, referring to a winged "Sun of righteousness", {{quote|But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings...|[Malachi](/source/Malachi) 4:2 [KJV](/source/KJV)}} == Greece == The winged sun is conventionally depicted as the knob of the [caduceus](/source/caduceus), the staff of [Hermes](/source/Hermes).{{cn|date=October 2021}} == Modern use == Various groups such as [Freemasonry](/source/Freemasonry), [Rosicrucianism](/source/Rosicrucianism), [Thelema](/source/Thelema), [Theosophy](/source/Theosophy_(Blavatskian)), and [Unity Church](/source/Unity_Church) have also used it. The symbol was used on the cover of [Charles Taze Russell](/source/Charles_Taze_Russell)'s textbook series ''[Studies in the Scriptures](/source/Studies_in_the_Scriptures)'' beginning with the 1911 editions. The winged sun symbol is also cited by proponents of the [pseudoscientific](/source/Pseudoscience) [Nibiru cataclysm](/source/Nibiru_cataclysm).{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/briankoberlein/2017/06/16/a-winged-star-the-nibiru-conspiracy-and-lazy-pseudoscience/|title=A Winged Star, The Nibiru Conspiracy, And Lazy Pseudoscience|first=Brian|last=Koberlein|website=Forbes.com|access-date=24 October 2021}} === Implied Secular use === [[File:Worthington Corporation (winged sun logo).svg|right|thumb|280px|A winged sun logo used by the [Worthington Corporation](/source/Worthington_Corporation), a former manufacturer of pumps and industrial machinery]] A winged sun is used in the heraldry of the North America Trade Directory.{{Cite web|url=http://www.northamerica-trade.com/heraldic.htm|title=North America Order|website=Northamerica-trade.com|access-date=24 October 2021}} Variations of the symbol are used as a trademark logo on vehicles produced by the [Chrysler](/source/Chrysler) Corporation, [Mini](/source/Mini_(marque)), [Bentley Motors](/source/Bentley), [Lagonda (Aston Martin)](/source/Lagonda) and [Harley Davidson](/source/Harley_Davidson). Since WW2, military aircraft of the United States have carried the insignia of a [circle with stripes extending from each side](/source/United_States_military_aircraft_national_insignia) like wings. Whether this is coincidental or some symbolic resemblance was intended is unknown. A five-pointed star is inscribed within the circle. Regarding its [video game](/source/video_game) usage, the symbol has become a common motif in the [Sonic the Hedgehog](/source/Sonic_the_Hedgehog) franchise, most notably featured on [title screens](/source/Title_sequence) displaying the [main character](/source/main_character), as well as a stylized version appearing as a symbol for religious mechanics and buildings in [Civilization VI](/source/Civilization_VI), among others. A stylised version appears in the Delta Rune, a prophetic symbol appearing in [Undertale](/source/Undertale) and its parallel story [Deltarune](/source/Deltarune). == See also == * [Winged genie](/source/Winged_genie) == References == {{Reflist}} == Bibliography == {{refbegin}} * R. Mayer, ''Opificius, Die geflügelte Sonne, Himmels- und Regendarstellungen im Alten Vorderasien'', UF 16 (1984) 189-236. * D. Parayre, ''Carchemish entre Anatolie et Syrie à travers l'image du disque solaire ailé (ca. 1800-717 av. J.-C.)'', Hethitica 8 (1987) 319-360. * D. Parayre, ''Les cachets ouest-sémitiques à travers l'image du disque solaire ailé'', Syria 67 (1990) 269-314. {{refend}} == External links == * {{commons category inline}} * [http://mobposters.com/index.php?item=1345453 Relief Depicting Gilgamesh Between Two Bull-Men Supporting a Winged Sun Disk], [Kapara](/source/Kapara) palace, [Tell Halaf](/source/Tell_Halaf). Category:Ancient Egyptian symbols Category:Egyptian hieroglyphs Category:Heraldic charges Category:Middle Eastern mythology Category:Religious symbols Category:Solar symbols Category:Sun myths Category:Divinity Category:Horus Category:Ra --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Winged sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_sun) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_sun?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.